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Compass Academy up for auction

By Haley Hughes

Sep 20 2013 12:01 am

A court-appointed receiver has announced plans to market and auction Compass Academy, the 53,000-square-foot school co-founded by Jonathan “Jay” Brooks, who has been accused of illegally selling unregistered securities to fund it.

Receiver Sherri Lydon has selected Leonardi Bracken Real Estate to market the property, which is 70 percent complete, according to a press release provided by the real estate company.

The property on Toolebeck Road, which was meant to serve as a private school, is currently on the market for $1.5 million until an auction date is established. The auction is tentatively scheduled for late October.

“We believe the facility will be of tremendous benefit to the Aiken community, but we simply do not have the funds to complete construction,” Lydon stated in the press release.

Lydon, an attorney based in Columbia, was selected as the receiver of all frozen assets belonging to Compass Academy, Jay Brooks, his wife Tracy Brooks and related companies.

Jay Brooks and his companies, J. Brooks Financial and Brooks Real Estate Holdings, are accused by the state Attorney General's office of illegally selling unregistered securities to fund the establishment of Compass Academy.

The Brookses have also been accused by the Securities Division of the Attorney General's office of using those funds to buy groceries, their home and vacations and jewelry, rather than investing the funds as promised.

Jay Brooks also is facing multiple civil lawsuits.

Once the date of Compass Academy's auction is confirmed, the opening bid will be disclosed, according to Dan Bracken, president of Leonardi Bracken Real Estate.

“We'll certainly reach out to every school in and around Aiken, but we'll also seek a broader market. We believe the building has the potential to be used in a number of ways. For example, it could be used as a church, a nursing home or a conference center for a large corporation. Mrs. Lydon has given us one task, and that is to work hard to return as much money to the investors as we can,” Bracken said in the press release.

Interested parties can learn more about the auction and property by visiting www.chooseauction.com or calling Dan Bracken at 800-576-7653.

Haley Hughes is the news editor for the Aiken Standard. She joined the newspaper in 2007 and covered the Aiken County government until her promotion in 2013. Hughes, a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, hails from Knoxville, Tenn.

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